“The food system needs to be inclusive, healthy, and sustainable,” stressed Anna Scavuzzo, Vice Mayor of Milan and Eurocities Shadow Commissioner for Sustainable Food Systems at the Food Trails Final Conference in Brussels last Thursday.
“We must propose a pathway to the EU to support families and children to grow up in healthier societies,” she continued summarising one of the aims of the event: making sure the work achieved during the four years of the project’s lifespan doesn’t get lost and continue having a lasting impact on future EU food policy.
EU’s previous and next mandate
“There was a plan, the Legislative Framework for Sustainable Food Systems, then the political priorities shifted,” recounted André Sobczak, Eurocities Secretary General. “How do we move forward?”
The recommendations recently published as a result of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture initiated by Ursula von der Leyen are promising on multiple fronts. Marta Messa, Secretary General of Slow Food, pointed out that the recommendations were impressively endorsed by diverse stakeholders with different interests. “It was agreed by everyone. Let’s use this to move forward,” insisted Messa.
The recommendations also insist on using a food systems approach, instead of focusing only on agriculture, and propose a revision of the payment system in the common agricultural policy (CAP), which currently favours big farmers as it is based on payment by hectare. Another welcome recommendation is the proposal to work on minimum mandatory procurement criteria, which could help local governments currently struggling to innovate on public procurement.
“Cities have a powerful lever to develop local supply chains and create new outlets for farmers—food public procurement,” shared Patrick Papadato, Vice President of Bordeaux Metropole. “But buying local in public procurement is challenging due to EU law. We need to work on rewriting the public procurement.”
Patrick Papadato from @BxMetro: “Cities have a powerful lever to develop local supply chains and create new outlets for farmers—food public procurement. But buying local in public procurement is challenging due to EU law. pic.twitter.com/IszLWWgzry
— Food Trails (@food_trails) October 3, 2024
The food system needs to be inclusive, healthy and sustainable,
Many cities “have to cheat” when it comes to procurement, says Olivier De Schutter, Co-Chair of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems and UN Special Rapporteur, because the current legislation blocks experimentation and their efforts “get stuck at national and EU level”. De Schutter adds that the EU should get inspired by local food councils as a way to bring together different stakeholders of the food system. He also calls for more transparency and coherence between government levels when it comes to tackling food issues.
New tools for action at the EU level
“Cities have knowledge that should be leveraged. We need a multilevel dialogue to trickle knowledge up,” added Messa. In this regard, the recommendations propose the creation of a European Board on Agri-Food Systems and Sobczak insists that cities must be represented.
Cities have knowledge that should be leveraged.
In her Mission Letter to Commissioner Designate Christophe Hansen, von der Leyen stressed the need to build on the recommendations and develop a vision towards sustainable food systems. Klaus Berend, Director for Food Safety, Sustainability and Innovation at DG SANTE who intervened at the Food Trails Final Conference mentioned the work that the Commission already achieved on food waste reduction and reassured participants that all the work and consultations done around the Legislative Framework for Sustainable Food Systems will not be lost.
Both past work and the recommendations from the Strategic Dialogue call for a systems-based approach and a need for sustainable food systems, and “both should feed into future work to ensure long-term sustainability within planetary boundaries. The EU should use a right mix of incentives, investments and enabling framework to achieve this,” summarised Berend.
De Schutter emphasised that “it should be binding for the EU to move to sustainable food systems”. He welcomed the idea of a European Board on Agri-Food Systems as an important tool for accountability and he insisted that the EU do more than propose a vision, it needs to “create a timeline with indicators and mechanisms”.
It should be binding for the EU to move to sustainable food systems
Food systems’ impact and issues
Fortunately, in the past years, cities “have cemented their leverage towards the EU. It’s a different starting point from years ago,” said Scavuzzo. For example, she points out that there’s a broader understanding that a holistic approach is needed as “everything in food is connected and collaboration is vital”.
“Food is at the centre of different food policies, for example, climate change,” echoed Giorgio Gori, Member of the European Parliament highlighting how in past years food policy has evolved locally, from focusing on agriculture in urban and peri-urban areas to including the distribution and production of food, to procurement in schools.
However, the system we inherited from the common agricultural policy from the 60s is resistant to change. De Schutter reminded the audience how this system was born from a drive to “increase production never to face scarcity” and he insisted that “we need a strong revision of the paradigm that we inherited”.
While the Farm to Fork was making progress, von der Leyen “underestimated the heritage of the common agricultural policy” believes De Schutter. With the invasion of Ukraine and the food prices inflation, the prevailing narrative “was that we had to produce more to bring the food prices down.” Or as Papadato put it: “In 2020 we thought about eating better, today we think about eating”.
We need a strong revision of the paradigm that we inherited
Scavuzzo pointed out how vital it is to promote healthy food. “Junk food is food,” she says, however choosing to ensure access to healthy food for all is a step towards a healthier society overall. It is also a step toward a more just society as access to healthy food is another indicator of a growing imbalance between the rich and the poor.
While most common reporting pointed the finger at environmental regulation and pitted them against farmers’ needs, De Schutter noted how the dependence of food production on energy linked the increase of provisions’ prices to the rise of energy prices. He also stressed how the concentration of food production in one region is a problem, “it will cause disruption”.
Maximo Torero, Chief Economist at FAO, explained how ignoring the environmental cost of the current food system will only backfire as “the link to climate change is essential to the production of the food of tomorrow. We need a more sustainable food system to get us there”. Statistics in hand, Torero argued that with 70% of food consumed in cities and 77% of food insecurity located in cities, “cities have a crucial role to play. We want good food for all for today and tomorrow”.
Food Trails legacy
The cities that took part in the Food Trails project have proven their impact. From changing people’s habits towards buying locally to reducing waste, from urban gardens to supporting local farmers, the Food Trails cities are leaving behind a wealth of information. The most valuable heritage of the project, shared by Paul Milbourne, from Cardiff University, is the Urban Food Policies.
“It has been a new experience to gather all stakeholders to prepare our food policy and we have learned a lot,” said Keti Luarasi, Vice Mayor of the City of Tirana. Urban Food Policies are important, argued Milbourne, because they recognise food as an important feature of local governments; they enable cities to address the challenges of our times, like health, climate change, and poverty; and they are a useful framework to coordinate and formalise existing local food initiatives.
Cities are setting out a path forward
“City governments are where the most developed and progressive priorities exist. Cities view food as a public good. Can you imagine what could be done at the EU level?” asked Milbourne. “Urban Food Policies have greatly improved thanks to the Food Trails project. We must build on its legacy,” insisted Scavuzzo. Addressing EU representatives, she said: “Don’t waste this work”.
🗣️ @Anna_Scavuzzo: “Urban Food Policies have greatly improved thanks to the @food_trails project. We must build on its legacy to strengthen school meals—caring for children today means investing in the future of our communities and work on demographics” #EuFoodCities pic.twitter.com/GVKDqgHjS5
— Food Trails (@food_trails) October 3, 2024
“Cities are setting out a path forward,” said Berend. “To achieve sustainable food systems, the role of local governments is crucial. You’re closer to citizens than we’ll ever be.” Gori also recognised that “Food Trails represents many tools that the EU can use to enhance the food policies in Europe”.
And if Berend reassured participants at the conference that the outputs from Food Trails will inspire future work, he also invited everyone “to contact us and tell us how we can help”. An invitation that Filippo Gavazzeni, from the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Secretariat, took on board: “Food Trails leaves a tangible heritage and we will continue the advocacy work we have been doing with the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and Eurocities”.
